Jamison's birth sory as told by my Doula.

Jamison Robert’s Birth Story

Meghan’s due date of April 3rd came and went. Her cervix was nicely effaced and beginning to dilate some. On Sunday, April 6, 2008, Meghan woke up at 3:00 a.m. to a nice contraction pattern. They were nearly 60 seconds long and coming every 3 to 5 minutes. Meghan called Angie at 9:30 a.m. to let her know what was going on. Angie called again at 12:30 p.m. to check in and see how things were going… still a nice contraction pattern of 60 seconds long, 3 to 5 minutes apart. Rob called Angie again at 2:00 and said they were ready for her to come, some contractions were getting to be 80 and 90 seconds long. Meghan’s mom and dad arrived from Hurricaine just before 3:00 and Angie arrived just before 3:30 p.m.

Meghan was lying peacefully in the middle of her bed in her darkened bedroom. Rob was very near, timing surges and rubbing Meghan’s back. Meghan’s mom, Cathy, was always nearby and ready to help. Meghan got in the bathtub from 3:45 to 4:20 at which time she decided she wanted to head to St. Marks. Preparations were made and the birthing party arrived at St. Marks just after 5:00 p.m. Meghan was assigned to room #9 and Jene was her nurse. She asked all the admit questions and Rob threw her off by saying, “I’m her brother.” Jene tried her best to offer suggestions that might help Meghan in labor, but it was nice when she finally left the room.
Meghan continued to labor and showed many possible signs of transition. She had been surging now for over 15 hours. At 5:30 Jene checked labor progress. Meghan was dilated to 2 cm, 90% effaced, and the baby was at a -2 station. It is an understatement to say that this news was surprising to Meghan. At this instant she requested an epidural. Jene tried and tried to place and I.V. but without success so Dr. Peggy Peterson, an anesthesiologist, came in to do it. After the bag of fluids was run, Dr. Peterson returned to place the epidural at 6:45. It was a tough 45 min. from the time of Meghan’s decision to the time of pain relief. The epidural worked marvelously and Meghan’s own words were, “I’m so happy!” Her I.V. was inadvertently pulled out so Dr. Peterson placed a fourth I.V. The new nurse on shift now was Laura and she was wonderful. At 8:15 p.m. Laura placed a catheter and found that the cervix was now 2+cm dilated, effacement complete at 100%, and the baby at a -2 with a nice bulgy bag of waters. At 8:30 Meghan felt dizzy and nearly blacked out. She lay flat in bed for a moment and felt much better. It is very common to have low blood pressure as a side affect to an epidural.

Rob reviewed the movie selection offered by Labor and Delivery. It was none too stellar, but “Brother Future” seemed to stand out. Rob grabbed a sandwich from Subway and Meghan was eagerly talking about the next time she could eat one. Angie and Cathy ran to Subway for a bite to eat too. At 10:15 p.m. Laura checked progress again; dilation was at 5 ½ cm and discussed the possibility of releasing the membranes to help labor along. Dr. Tilley came in at 10:20 and released the membranes. Dilation was now 6 cm and the baby had come down to a -1 station. The fluid was nice and clear. Meghan was just laboring away and visiting with Rob, Cathy, and Angie. At 11:30 p.m. she felt rectal pressure, which is great news when you are in labor!

Amy became the nurse at midnight. She checked progress at 12:10 a.m., now on Monday, April 7, and found that dilation was at 6+ cm. Things got exciting between 12:15 and 12:30; Meghan experienced a titanic contraction, or one that doesn’t stop. The baby’s heart rate dropped for a time and three nurses came rushing in. They gave her a shot of tributeline to stop the contraction, oxygen, and a position change. They also placed an internal lead on the baby’s head to more accurately monitor his heart rate. At 12:40 Dr. Luikenaar came in briefly to mention that she’d like to start pitocin to help the labor progress. Angie guided Meghan through some relaxation scripts. At 1:45 dilation was at 7 cm and pitocin was started at 1 mL. Meghan felt pain on the left side of her cervix and there was some swelling there as well. The plan was to gently increase the pitocin and see how the baby tolerated that. At 2:20 a.m. the pitocin was turned to 2 mL. Angie and Rob did an “opening” script where Meghan went through her house in her mind and opened up everything she possibly could. At 2:50 the pitocin was increased to 4 mL.

At 3:15 Amy checked the cervix, dilation remained at 7 cm and was swollen, the baby’s caput was low—his head was trying to mould down into the birth canal. Just after 3:30 Amy increased the pitocin to 6 mL, and at 4:00 a.m. to 8 mL. Angie put Meghan in to an exaggerated side-lying position and did hip press-release. At 4:20 a.m. Dr. Luikenaar returned and found that dilation was now at 6 cm, due to cervical swelling and determined that it was time to head back to the OR for a Cesarean birth. Dr. Layman, the anesthesiologist came in to dose the epidural and she was a stickler about having only one support person in the OR. Rob suited up in a cute blue alien outfit. At 4:45 Meghan was wheeled back and at 4:55 Rob followed. Angie and Cathy waited outside the OR doors and listened for the first cries of a baby. Those first cries came at 5:03 a.m. on the morning of Monday, April 7, 2008—the time of Jamison’s birth. Dr. Luikenaar discovered that he was positioned directly OP. He had very healthy Apgars of 8 and 9. He weighed 8 pounds, 8 ounces and was 22 inches long with a 35 cm head. Meghan returned to room #9 at 5:45 with baby Jamison in her arms. At 5:50 he was latched on and breastfeeding very well! After 26 hours of hard work, patience and lots of love, Meghan had a wonderful birth and was rewarded with a beautiful baby boy.

The things Cathy will most remember about this experience are: “’2 cm! Give me an epidural!’ Hearing his first cry.” Rob will most remember, “Being able to see him the second he came out and taking photos. To hear him cry, that was amazing! I was pretty excited when she woke me up in the morning to let me know she was contracting. I liked the fact that I was with Meghan the whole time.” And Meghan will most remember, “Hearing him cry for the first time, seeing Rob bring him to me. ‘2 cm !?! I want an epidural!’ How good Rob was—there was no way I could have done it without him. Being told it would have to be a C-section.

It was a privilege and an honor to be a part of this amazing birth. Meghan was so strong and positive. She handled every turn her birthing took with grace… (except when she hollered “2 cm!?!”) Rob was very attentive and supportive and Cathy had so much love to offer. Meghan is fortunate to be surrounded by those who love her and Jamison is a very blessed little boy to have been able to come to such a wonderful family.